This is a very small part of my mom and stepdad's backyard, but it's where my mom planted her very first vegetable garden this past spring and summer. She officially retired last December, so she was determined to have a garden this year. She worked really hard, too, so when we went down to visit a couple weeks ago, she gave me some peppers to bring home.
She gave me some banana peppers, which are the light green ones and the darker green peppers, too, although she couldn't remember the names of those. Neither are the hot kind. I cut those up and froze them to use later this winter. The tiny red ones are cayenne peppers and since they are so small, I decided to dry them, which I've never done before. So, I got out my Joy of Cooking cookbook and followed the directions, kind of. Since they are so small, I left them whole and spread them out on a cookie sheet.
The directions say to set the oven for 140 degrees but the lowest temperature my oven will go is 170 degree, so that's what I did. I put them in the oven and let them dry out until I could hear the seeds inside the peppers rattling around when I shook them, and the skins were shriveled a little. I can't tell you exactly how long they were in the oven because at one point my husband turned off the oven, not realizing why I had the it on at such a low temperature, but it worked out just fine. The directions say it will take between 12 and 24 hours for the peppers to completely dry. Mine didn't take that long, probably because of the higher temperature.
This is what I now have in my cupboard. I think I will grind them in small batches to keep the flavor fresher, at least, that's what I think I should do. Since I've never done this before, I welcome any and all suggestions. My cookbook says I'm to remove the stems and seeds and use a spice grinder or coffee mill, being careful not to inhale the fumes or dust while grinding, as that could irritate my eyes and mouth. Preserving whatever food I can't use right now always works for me.I'm participating in What Works for Me Wednesday today at We Are That Family.
7 comments:
This is a great post. When I was in Italy at the market the wall was filled with them for sale. The sign said "Natural Viagra". I had to take a picture. It's hysterical. I never knew that until I saw the sign.
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Sorry, I can't help you with chili peppers. Let us know how they turn out. Maybe next year I'll grow peppers!
Christine,
My mom and her neighbors had so many peppers this year, they had to give some away. I believe they are pretty easy to grow.
DarcyLee!!!!
How are you! I do LOVE a good chile pepper! You can't be an official "New Mexican" and not LOVE chile pepper. We generally have "Big Jim" and "Sandia" green chile down here and, I believe, the red chile we use is just the dried version of those. Some people put hundreds of chile on their roofs to dry here in the Las Cruces sun. Oh my! When the green chile is harvested, the grocery stores use large (50-gallon size) mesh roasters with a propane flame and the mesh deal rotates with the flame going under it (outside of the store, of course). It smells so good driving around town!
The best harvest is never the first one (of course, beggars can't be choosers - when you are given chile you take what you get!) It seems like the first harvest has too much oil or something and it gives you the worst heart burn. You not only want to remove the stem and seeds, but also the veins; that is where a lot of the heat is. WASH YOUR HANDS THROUGHLY AFTER PROCESSING YOUR CHILE!!!! The first thing you will do is rub your eye and wish you hadn't! I told my son to not touch his eyes until he washed his hand after peeling some of his Jalepenos (he grew himself) so he was feeling silly and rubbed his eye...he had to literally cry after that.
Well, happy chile processing!
C. C.
Good job on preserving those peppers, DarcyLee. I love how you're always up for learning new homemake-y things. I'm not a hot pepper girl so I can't add any suggestions. But it sounds like you've done your homework, and Joy of Cooking should tell you all you need to know. Let us know how this all turns out when you use them :) And thank you for your apple ideas at my blog. I'm looking forward to cooking some up in butter as you suggested. Sounds yummy.
We grow peppers too. I just cut up my banana peppers and put them in a jar of vinegar and leave them on the counter. My son loves putting those on sandwiches and stuff. I also save my jalepinos that way.I hang my cayennes up on a string and let them dry out that way. I don't know why, but I love seeing them hang. I grind mine in my Magic Bullet. Just make sure whatever you grind them in, that it is a tight fit. It will burn your eyes so bad for a long time if you get it in them.
Thanks for all the tips.
Sandra-I bet your chili peppers looked pretty hanging in your red kitchen! Thanks for the warning.
C.C.-Yes, I will be very careful. Your poor son! That happened to my sister recently. Very painful.
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